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Environmental Soils
and Landscape Processes
Research and education in Environmental Soils and Landscape Processes
within the Agronomy Department at Purdue focus on soil erosion processes
and on management techniques to limit soil loss. Areas of study
include:
- fate and transport of contaminants in soils
- soil remediation
- remote sensing of soil resources and earth observations
- soil erosion
- soil classification, mapping, survey
- soil chemistry/ mineralogy
- soil biology and biochemistry
- nanotechnology
- waste management
It may take decades or hundreds of years to regenerate surface
soil lost to human-caused erosion, and the eroding soil can cause
other problems. Nutrients and potentially toxic compounds move off-site
with eroding soil and contaminate surface water. Also, subsurface
waters may be contaminated as compounds leach through the subsoil.
Researchers in this field look at the fate and transport of these
compounds and the influence that the soil and surrounding environment
has on their transport.
Researchers in this area also use plants as tools to clean up contaminated
soils and waters. The roots from plants stimulate growth of soil
microbes that ultimately break down contaminants into non-toxic
byproducts. Waste-management microbial ecology allows us to identify
specific organisms that effectively reduce contaminant concentrations
and contamination.
By understanding the interaction between soil clays and organic
matter and its effect on soil reactions, researchers can better
manage the soil. Nanotechnology is a fundamental outgrowth of this
work with the colloidal fraction of soils. New technologies such
as remote sensing, GIS, and GPS to study the physical, chemical,
and biological properties of soils and plant response to environment
are routinely used in these studies.
Students should have a physical or biological science background.
An interest in working in the natural sciences is desired.
Graduates find jobs in the private sector at environmental consulting
firms, regulatory agencies, the Natural Resource and Conservation
Service, private corporations, and the Cooperative Extension Service.
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